Freelance Copywriting, marketing and social media tips

I’m sure you’ve all heard the buzz about keywords and SEO.

As a freelance website copywriter, it is something that I deal with regularly for clients. And something that I often see done badly. Time and time again people try to cover all their bases in one hit. Don’t!

What do I mean?

Well, often people decide on their keywords and stuff a typical paragraph (about 200 words) with them. Does that work? No.

Think about this for a second. Who is going to be influenced by what is written on your website enough to make them want to buy your product? Your reader or the search engine spiders?

Your reader right? That is why you should only use 2-3 keywords per page. Don’t forget, the overall text must be reader-friendly.

3 Golden SEO Rules

1. Location, location, location – This is the next thing you must think about. Get your keywords in the right places – title tags, headings, links and your content.
2. Keywords aren’t the be all and end all – The structure of your site, links (inbound, outbound, internal, external) and number of pages all have an influence on your Google SERPs.
3. Be patient –If you start on your SEO campaign expecting instant results, you will be VERY disappointed.

SEO takes time, patience and stamina. Get it right and you’ll be laughing all the way to a top ranking.

Don’t forget there are people who can help you. By working with an SEO website copywriter you will get the best possible copy for your site.

What do I mean by keeping your copywriting active? Well, I don’t mean filling it with adjectives which simply increase your word count without actually adding any value.

Still not sure?

Think back to the best years of your life – your school days (well, apparently they were the best years of your life, although I’m not entirely sure that applies to every single year of my academic youth). What did your English teacher constantly bang on about?

“Verbs are ‘doing’ words”

Like a stick of rock, if you cut open a copywriter (not that I am suggesting for one second that you should) those words will go right the way through them.

Just as they were in fiction, verbs are important in your sales writing. They drive your writing; they make it active and vigorous. Copywriters love verbs.

But there is a tendency in some in-house copy to turn perfectly good verbs into nouns.

I think an illustration is required:

Nouns

“Our specialization is the provision of high quality IT solutions“ (10 words, 55 characters)

Verbs

“We specialize in solving IT problems” (6 words, 31 characters)

I think that speaks for itself. So remember keep your copywriting active – it will have a much greater impact.

Sally Ormond

Q: What is the one thing that freelance copywriters are always asked for?

A: Snappy copy.

Ask your client exactly what they mean by ‘snappy copy’ and the response is usually:

“Erm…you know…snappy…punchy…that sort of thing.”

Very insightful.

In order for a copywriter to create powerful copy, they need to utilise power words. These are very basic, simple words that don’t require defining or explaining. Your reader should be able to connect with them immediately.

You want to see some examples? OK. Power words are things such as:

• Love
• Hate
• Cash
• Care
• Best
• Crash
• Worst
• Win
• Lose
• Huge
• Risk
• Fizz

Once a copywriter has created a first draft, their next job is to read through the copy and clear out all the flabby worn-out words and replace them with something more powerful. Of course, the choice of words is going to depend on what you are writing and who you are writing for.

If you are still unsure of what I am getting at, I have listed below some worn-out words and given a powerful alternative.

Worn-out                                                                   Powerful alternative

Cost-effective                                                             Cheap

Impact negatively                                                       Hurt

Optimal                                                                       Best

Upgrade                                                                      Boost

See how much ‘snappier’ the power words are? They will give you copy far more impact.

Sally Ormond

Let me ask you something. What do you look for in a website?

You probably want a website that is eye-catching, interesting and that is going to give you the answers you are looking for.

In that case, why do so many businesses tick the eye-catching box and then stop?

Website copywriting is the best way to get visitors and keep them.

But be warned writing great online content is not as easy as it would seem. Yes you can probably write, and yes you know your business better than anyone. But that is exactly why you should get a website copywriter in to write the content for you.

A website copywriter is trained to write to your reader. You may think that is easy; if it were, every website you came across would be like that, but very few are.

Here are 6 simple steps to help you create a sticky website:

1. Loads of white space

Break up your text into bite size chunks. Short paragraphs will make it appear easier on the eye and more readable.

2. Simple language

Keep your language simple. People will be put off by fancy words and long sentences. Don’t forget to use the magic words.

3. Benefits

Ask yourself what it is that your customer wants. Website copywriting is all about selling the benefits – What is it about your product that will make their life easier? Answer that in your first paragraph and you’ll have them hooked.

4. Titles and subtitles

Break down your text and give it headings. That way, your reader can see at a glance what your page is about.

5. Keywords

You would have done your keyword research but don’t over stuff your copy. Concentrate on 2 or 3 main keywords per page. Use them in the titles and then once or twice in the body text. Remember you are writing for your reader first and the search engines second.

6. Call to action

Once you have your reader don’t leave them wandering what to do next. Make your call to action as clear and simple as possible.

Take a look at your website. Could it be improved?

If you were honest, I bet it could. So please never make the mistake of thinking about the services of a website copywriter as an expense. Instead, think of it as an investment. Any money spent will be recouped many times over.

Great Freelance Copywriting isn’t just about putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. It involves far more skill than that – in fact you could call it an art. There may not be any paint involved but words are intricately woven together into something powerful and compelling. There is no magic formula as it isn’t an exact science.

Before you can even start writing you have to have ideas. Whether you are writing a sales letter, brochure or webcopy, what you produce has to break through all the other sales messages out there, grab your reader’s attention and cling on to them until they have got out their credit card and bought your product.

It sounds so simple, but creativity can be elusive. Everyone has their own way of stimulating their creative flow and here are a few of mine:

• Walking the dog
• Going to the gym
• Read a book, magazine or newspaper
• Write down anything and everything that comes into your head
• Read some websites
• Imagine yourself as the buyer
• Work somewhere else other than your usual place
• Brainstorm keywords

What are your favourite ways of stimulating creativity? Do you use the same methods as me or do you have some far more interesting ways? Come on, don’t be shy share them with us.

Sally Ormond